Behnaz Farahi
Assistant Professor, MIT Media Lab
(Keynote Speaker) – USA
Behnaz Farahi
美國建築師、互動設計師與創意科技實踐者，現任 MIT Media Lab 教授並領導 Critical Matter 研究小組。結合人工智慧、可穿戴科技與數位製造，探索身體、空間與情感的交互關係，關注女性主義、知覺與社會互動等議題。
作品獲 Cooper Hewitt 數位設計獎、WTN 世界技術獎等肯定，並典藏於芝加哥科學與工業博物館。曾與 NASA、Adidas 合作，於 Ars Electronica、SIGGRAPH 等國際展出，並出版多部設計與科技專書，展現當代科技美學的實驗精神。
An American architect, interaction designer, and creative technologist, currently a professor at the MIT Media Lab where they lead the Critical Matter research group. Their work integrates artificial intelligence, wearable technologies, and digital fabrication to explore the intersections of body, space, and emotion, with a focus on feminism, perception, and social interaction.
They have received major recognitions including the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Digital Design and the World Technology Award, with works held in the collection of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Their projects span collaborations with NASA and Adidas, and have been featured at international platforms such as Ars Electronica and SIGGRAPH. The author of several books on design and technology, they embody an experimental spirit in contemporary techno-aesthetics.
演講主題 | Lecture Topic
關鍵物質：AI、情感與設計未來
如果人工智慧與設計，能讓我們感受更多，而不是更少，會怎麼樣？如果設計不只是實用，更是批判與情感的載體呢？
隨著人工智慧日益深植於我們的生活環境中，我們不僅要問它「能做什麼」，更該思考它如何影響我們的情感與人際連結。
本次演講將探討 AI、情感與設計之間的交會點，揭示新興科技如何被運用來回應當代迫切的社會、文化與政治議題。
透過一系列跨領域的創作——從公共藝術、互動裝置到機器人與可穿戴界面設計，Behnaz Farahi 探索「材質」如何被賦予智能與仿生行為，進而與人類情感產生連結。她結合神經科學、認知哲學、運算設計與女性主義等觀點，提出一種全新的設計典範——以同理心、關懷與自主性為核心。
這場演講邀請我們一起想像一種未來：材質不再只是執行任務的工具，而是能與我們一同「感受」的存在，開啟更多同理與深層轉化的可能。
What if AI and design could help us feel more, not less? What if design wasn’t just functional, but also critical and emotional?
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in our environments, we must ask not only what it can do but how it shapes the way we feel, and connect. This talk explores the intersection of AI, emotion, and design, revealing how emerging technologies can be harnessed to address pressing social, cultural, and political questions.
Through a series of interdisciplinary projects—from public art, interactive installations and robotics wearable interfaces, Behnaz Farahi investigates how materials can be imbued with intelligence and life-like behavior to interface with human emotion. Drawing on insights from neuroscience, cognitive philosophy, computational design, and feminism, she proposes a new design paradigm, one that centers empathy, care, and agency.
This talk invites us to imagine a future where materials don’t just perform, but feel alongside us, opening space for empathy, and critical transformation.